Therian Symbol Origins & Meanings
The therian symbol (ΘΔ) refers to people called therians. The symbol itself consists of the Greek Theta (Θ), meaning “wild animal,” along with the Greek Delta (Δ), which symbolizes change. The Theta is also the 8th letter of the Greek alphabet and stands for “life,” “thought,” and the “spirit” or “soul.” The Delta is also the 4th letter of the Greek alphabet and symbolizes the 4 elements of earth, water, fire, and air, or “the sum of all things.” The therian symbol can appear in many forms but usually includes a single interlocked symbol of the Greek Theta and Delta together, with a stripe inside.
The symbol originated in 2003 on the Werelist forums. The ΘΔ symbol represents how a person identifying as a therian slips into animal-like behavior and thinking.
Therian Symbol Uses
The therian symbol is primarily used on social media profiles. People who include the ΘΔ symbol on Instagram, TikTok, or X represent therians, who participate in the integration of animal and human identities. You can use the therian symbol on social media posts so others recognize who you are. There is no interlocking therian symbol available, but you can type the Greek Theta followed by the Greek Delta (ΘΔ) as a sign of solidarity among the small, but proud therian community online.
Therians often use emojis rather than the therian symbol. Popular therian emojis use (1) whatever animal emoji you identify as, followed by (2) a paw print emoji (????), a question mark emoji (❓), or a dizzy emoji (????).
What does it mean to be a Therian?
Therians identify themselves as a non-human animal. They feel that certain animals represent their inner self, but not physically. Therians don’t always express this identification outwardly but can exhibit animal-like behaviors, experience shifts, or wear gear to feel closer to their inner creature. Therians often cite past lives or reincarnation beliefs as the origin of who they are spiritually. Psychologically, they often connect to a certain animal as a child and develop into full-grown therians as adults. The type of animal a [What-Is-a-Therian|therian] identifies as is called a theriotype.
Types of Therians
Standard Therians Someone who experiences therianthropy as a single non-human animal.
Polytherians Someone who has more than one or multiple theriotypes. They may identify as a rabbit and a mouse at the same time.
Cladotherians A therian who identifies with an entire genus instead of a single species. An example would be a person who identifies as a cat, but not a specific cat species.
Suntherian A therian who experiences minor shifts in personality and identifies more as a human than an animal.
Contherian Someone who constantly feels like their inner animal self without any mental shifts.
Vacillant Therian A therian whose mental shifts are very smooth and almost seamless.
Paleotherians A therian who identifies with an extinct species of animal. Examples of paleotherian theriotypes include a wooly mammoth or a dodo bird.
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